Gaza war to last months as fears of conflict spread rise

Israel's war on Hamas will last months, Israel's military chief said, as a string of incidents outside the Gaza Strip highlighted the risk of the conflict spreading.

Israel's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told reporters in a televised statement on Tuesday from the Gaza border that the war would go on "for many months."

"There are no magic solutions, there are no shortcuts in dismantling a terrorist organization, only determined and persistent fighting," Halevi said. "We will reach Hamas' leadership too, whether it takes a week or if it takes months."

'Catastrophic' humanitarian situation

Israel previously urged the residents of Gaza to move from the northern region to the central and southern regions, which it claimed as "safe zones." However, the Israeli forces later expanded their strikes across the strip, including the central and southern parts.

In a statement, the UN Human Rights Office's spokesperson Seif Magango reported that more than 50 strikes occurred in central Gaza on December 24 and 25, targeting the refugee camps of Bureij, Nuseirat and Maghazi, where two strikes hit seven residential buildings, killing at least 86 people.

"An unknown number of people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble," Magango said.

The escalated Israeli bombardment, said Magango, is "deepening an already catastrophic humanitarian situation," with all roads connecting the three camps destroyed, hindering the delivery of relief aid. Shelters and hospitals, operating at a minimal capacity, are grappling with critical overcrowding and limited resources.

Palestinian health authorities have reported that approximately 21,000 people, predominantly children, women and the elderly, were killed during the 81-day conflict, with thousands more missing and presumed to be buried under the rubble. A majority of the 2.3 million population has been displaced, and the UN reports widespread hunger.

Spread threat

There are growing signs the conflict is starting to spread.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Tuesday on a container ship in the Red Sea and for an attempt to attack Israel with drones.

The Houthis have been attacking ships they say have links to Israel in the entrance to the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The attacks are a response to Israel's assault on Gaza, the militia says.

An Israeli airstrike killed a senior leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guards in Syria on Monday.

And on the Lebanon border on Tuesday, Israel said Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at a church, wounding nine Israeli soldiers and a civilian, after which it fired rockets from near a mosque, drawing retaliatory airstrikes.

"We are in a multi-front war and are coming under attack from seven theaters: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), Iraq, Yemen and Iran," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told lawmakers on Tuesday, listing six places where Iran-backed militants are active, as well as Iran itself.

The U.S. has openly pressed Israel in recent weeks to scale down its war to a more targeted operation of raids on Hamas leaders. But Washington is still seen in the region as a supporter of Israel and U.S. forces have been attacked by Iran-backed militants in the Middle East.

(With input from agencies)